~Ellen: 11-year old girl who has the role of the main character and the narrator.
~Daddy: Ellen's abusive, alcoholic father. He dies by having an aneurysm from excessive drinking.
~Mama: Ellen's mother. She is sick with rheumatic fever and depressed because of her abusive husband. She commits suicide by swallowing a bottle of her medications.
~Starletta: Ellen's best friend. She is black, and lives with her mom and dad in a small, rundown house that has no indoor toilet. She is Ellen's get-away from her daddy.
~Julia: Ellen's art teacher. Takes care of Ellen. Very organic. Possibly a hippy.
~Roy: Julia's husband. Also very organic, and a possible hippy like his wife. He does not have a job except to stay home and do chores, that would be expected to be done by a woman.
~Mama's Mama: Ellen's mom's mom [her grandma]. Treats Ellen cruelly because she is related to her daddy. She also thinks Ellen is the reason her daughter died. With her abusive punishment, she makes Ellen work on her farm with the black field hands. She dies from old age at the end of the summer, while Ellen is staying with her.
~Mavis: A black woman that works on Ellen's grandmother's farm. She tells Ellen stories of her mother while she helps Ellen work in the fields.
~Dora: Ellen's spoiled cousin.
~Nadine: Ellen's aunt. Takes Ellen in for a little while, but ends up kicking her out on Christmas.
~Betsy: Another one of Ellen's aunts. Takes care of Ellen for one weekend, thinking it's a visit.
~New Mama: Ellen's foster mother. Everything Ellen's ever wanted in a mother.
~Stella: Ellen's new foster sister. A seventh-grader who has a son named Roger.
~Jo Jo: Another one of Ellen's new foster sisters.
~Dolphin: Ellen's horse that she rides and takes care of at her new mama's house.
Ellen is an 11-year old girl who goes through many disappointments. After her mother commits suicide, she is left to live with her abusive, alcoholic father. Even though she tries her hardest to stay away from him, he always finds a way to hurt her. As an emotionally, physically, mentally and sexually abused young girl, Ellen has to fend for herself. She pays the bills, shops for groceries, and feeds herself. But when she needs to get away, she goes to her best friend, Starletta, and stays with her family.
One day at school, a teacher finds a bruise on Ellen's arm, and decides to get involved. Ellen then starts to live with her art teacher, Julia, and her husband, Roy. They take much better care of her than her father ever did. Just as Ellen is enjoying being with people who care about her, she finds out that she is to live with her grandmother [her mama's mama] because she won custody of her in court. She soon finds out that her mama's mama is a bitter, old and cruel woman.
During her stay, her grandmother tortures her, as if to get revenge on her father. She gets blamed for her mother's suicide. So as one of the punishments, Ellen is sent to work on her grandmother's farm with the black field hands. During this time she meets Mavis, who helps Ellen work, while telling her about her mother. Then Ellen goes back only to hear that her father has died from his excessive drinking. Despite all of her thoughts on how she wanted him to die, she surprisingly feels sad and sheds a single tear. That one tear cost her a furious, slap from her grandmother and the demand that she may never cry again. Ellen never forgets this moment, and throughout the book, she is never able to let herself cry. Later on, her mama's mama becomes sick. Yet, despite her hatred, Ellen takes care of her grandmother. She does not want to be blamed for another person dying. But although Ellen does the best she can to keep her grandmother alive, she dies.
Ellen is next sent to live with her aunt, Nadine, and her cousin, Dora. During her stay, she only finds a foolish aunt, a spoiled cousin, and more disappointments, even though she does her best to please others. Ellen stays with them only until Christmas, because Nadine sends her out of the house, never to return.
The Foster Lady is Ellen's last hope. She arrives at the Foster Lady's home in her best dress, and one hundred and sixty-six dollars in hand, hoping to make a good impression. After many questions, Ellen finds a new home and a new mama. She is everything Ellen could have ever hoped for in a mother. She lets her take care of her own horse, Dolphin, buys her new clothes, gives her as much attention as she needs, and even lets Starletta sleep over, despite the fact that she is black. Over that weekend, Ellen realizes that Starletta has been through a harder time then she has.
Why is this book outstanding?
This book is like an autobiography of a woman in an eleven-year old girl's body. Ellen is wise for her age, considering what she's been through. She speaks in a way that can be interpreted for the world. Some being:
~"Maybe it is wasteful to scatter your worldly goods from hither to yon but I never wanted to have more than would tie up or tape down in the box" (pg. 72). My Interpretation: What are the only things I really need in life? Would they be small enough and important enough to fit into only one box?
~"So many folks thinking and wanting you to be somebody else will confuse you if you are not very careful" (pg. 80). My Interpretation: If you don't know who you truly are, then whatever people tell you about you, you will believe is true.
~"Sometimes I even think I was cut out to be colored and I got bleached and sent to the wrong bunch of folks" (pg. 100). My Interpretation: Ellen has gone through so much, that she sees her self as if she was black: treated poorly and unfairly. And yet she looks in the mirror only to see a white girl.
With these quotes you can see that Ellen is beyond her age. This book takes you deep inside a young girl's life, and you get caught up in it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about the hardships of children and how they overcome everything life throws at them. I absolutely loved this book. I got into the story right away, when it started with:
"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy."
I am anxious to read the sequel to this book, and I hope you all enjoy this particular piece of literature as much as I did.
*~Ellen Foster~*
By: Kaye GibbonsCharacters:
Kaye Gibbons
~Ellen: 11-year old girl who has the role of the main character and the narrator.~Daddy: Ellen's abusive, alcoholic father. He dies by having an aneurysm from excessive drinking.
~Mama: Ellen's mother. She is sick with rheumatic fever and depressed because of her abusive husband. She commits suicide by swallowing a bottle of her medications.
~Starletta: Ellen's best friend. She is black, and lives with her mom and dad in a small, rundown house that has no indoor toilet. She is Ellen's get-away from her daddy.
~Julia: Ellen's art teacher. Takes care of Ellen. Very organic. Possibly a hippy.
~Roy: Julia's husband. Also very organic, and a possible hippy like his wife. He does not have a job except to stay home and do chores, that would be expected to be done by a woman.
~Mama's Mama: Ellen's mom's mom [her grandma]. Treats Ellen cruelly because she is related to her daddy. She also thinks Ellen is the reason her daughter died. With her abusive punishment, she makes Ellen work on her farm with the black field hands. She dies from old age at the end of the summer, while Ellen is staying with her.
~Mavis: A black woman that works on Ellen's grandmother's farm. She tells Ellen stories of her mother while she helps Ellen work in the fields.
~Dora: Ellen's spoiled cousin.
~Nadine: Ellen's aunt. Takes Ellen in for a little while, but ends up kicking her out on Christmas.
~Betsy: Another one of Ellen's aunts. Takes care of Ellen for one weekend, thinking it's a visit.
~New Mama: Ellen's foster mother. Everything Ellen's ever wanted in a mother.
~Stella: Ellen's new foster sister. A seventh-grader who has a son named Roger.
~Jo Jo: Another one of Ellen's new foster sisters.
~Dolphin: Ellen's horse that she rides and takes care of at her new mama's house.
Ellen is an 11-year old girl who goes through many disappointments. After her mother commits suicide, she is left to live with her abusive, alcoholic father. Even though she tries her hardest to stay away from him, he always finds a way to hurt her. As an emotionally, physically, mentally and sexually abused young girl, Ellen has to fend for herself. She pays the bills, shops for groceries, and feeds herself. But when she needs to get away, she goes to her best friend, Starletta, and stays with her family.One day at school, a teacher finds a bruise on Ellen's arm, and decides to get involved. Ellen then starts to live with her art teacher, Julia, and her husband, Roy. They take much better care of her than her father ever did. Just as Ellen is enjoying being with people who care about her, she finds out that she is to live with her grandmother [her mama's mama] because she won custody of her in court. She soon finds out that her mama's mama is a bitter, old and cruel woman.
During her stay, her grandmother tortures her, as if to get revenge on her father. She gets blamed for her mother's suicide. So as one of the punishments, Ellen is sent to work on her grandmother's farm with the black field hands. During this time she meets Mavis, who helps Ellen work, while telling her about her mother. Then Ellen goes back only to hear that her father has died from his excessive drinking. Despite all of her thoughts on how she wanted him to die, she surprisingly feels sad and sheds a single tear. That one tear cost her a furious, slap from her grandmother and the demand that she may never cry again. Ellen never forgets this moment, and throughout the book, she is never able to let herself cry. Later on, her mama's mama becomes sick. Yet, despite her hatred, Ellen takes care of her grandmother. She does not want to be blamed for another person dying. But although Ellen does the best she can to keep her grandmother alive, she dies.
Ellen is next sent to live with her aunt, Nadine, and her cousin, Dora. During her stay, she only finds a foolish aunt, a spoiled cousin, and more disappointments, even though she does her best to please others. Ellen stays with them only until Christmas, because Nadine sends her out of the house, never to return.
The Foster Lady is Ellen's last hope. She arrives at the Foster Lady's home in her best dress, and one hundred and sixty-six dollars in hand, hoping to make a good impression. After many questions, Ellen finds a new home and a new mama. She is everything Ellen could have ever hoped for in a mother. She lets her take care of her own horse, Dolphin, buys her new clothes, gives her as much attention as she needs, and even lets Starletta sleep over, despite the fact that she is black. Over that weekend, Ellen realizes that Starletta has been through a harder time then she has.
Why is this book outstanding?
This book is like an autobiography of a woman in an eleven-year old girl's body. Ellen is wise for her age, considering what she's been through. She speaks in a way that can be interpreted for the world. Some being:
~"Maybe it is wasteful to scatter your worldly goods from hither to yon but I never wanted to have more than would tie up or tape down in the box" (pg. 72). My Interpretation: What are the only things I really need in life? Would they be small enough and important enough to fit into only one box?
~"So many folks thinking and wanting you to be somebody else will confuse you if you are not very careful" (pg. 80). My Interpretation: If you don't know who you truly are, then whatever people tell you about you, you will believe is true.
~"Sometimes I even think I was cut out to be colored and I got bleached and sent to the wrong bunch of folks" (pg. 100). My Interpretation: Ellen has gone through so much, that she sees her self as if she was black: treated poorly and unfairly. And yet she looks in the mirror only to see a white girl.
With these quotes you can see that Ellen is beyond her age. This book takes you deep inside a young girl's life, and you get caught up in it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about the hardships of children and how they overcome everything life throws at them. I absolutely loved this book. I got into the story right away, when it started with:
"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy."
I am anxious to read the sequel to this book, and I hope you all enjoy this particular piece of literature as much as I did.
Work Cited:
~"Kaye Gibbons". 2007. Lyceum Agency. 4 Nov 2007. <http://www.lyceumagency.com/kaye+gibbons.aspx
~"Julie Harris". 2007. Answers Corporation. 11 Nov 2007. <http://www.answers.com/topic/julie-harris-actor-drama>
~"Ellen Foster". 2005. Books-A-Million, Inc. and NetCentral, Inc. 11 Nov 2007. <http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?id=3923369615656&isbn=0375703055>
~"Black and White". 2006. Karmative Photography. 12 Nov 2007. <http://www.karmative.com/prints/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6>
~"Family Law". 2007. Bateman Herbert. 12 Nov 2007.<http://www.batemanhebert.ca/familylaw.html>